Tuesday, November 2, 2010

I am sure everyone has watched the news, I am sure everyone sees what is going on. And honestly, I am sick of the story that is being spun, cause nothing is how it is being portrayed.

The straight fact of the matter is that many journalists, and the Republican party treat this as a referendum against Obama, against his administration and his policies. But franky, I doubt it is him that they are frustrated about. I mean joblessness is high, we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan, the value of the dollar is falling... And instead of saying that people are frustrated with what is happening, or not happening as the case may be, Republicans are controlling the message and saying Obama and the Democrats are to blame. People like Sarah Palin; who haven't done well in office, who lie, who avoid the press and won't allow themselves to be subjected to scrutiny are taking over the media, taking over the mesage. On CNN it is a little better than Fox, but the Republicans are controlling the message by downplaying how bad things were in 2008, and being the party that has been sore about losing power for the past two years. Because honestly, that is true. They have opposed almost every major piece of legislation, any passing of it nearly impossible, or very hard to pass. Yes, there are some bad things in the legislation, like the mandate that requires everyone to purchase insurance; but there are also some good things too such as pre-existing conditions being done away with. Or will be when the full legislation goes into affect. Nor are Democrats innocent either; I'm sure more could have been done to be bi-partisan and there may have been some attempts. But that's not the point. The point that is being made on the news isn't that Congress will be partisan, it's the Republicans essentially gloating that they won, that this is referendum against Obama and that it is essentially their way or the highway. Yes, having a balanced Congress is good, I am not complaining about that; but the attitude I see particularly of the Republican party; where they have been anti-Democrat, anti-Obama since day one and nothing that I see being said about that indicates any sort of change.

And the ironic thing, I am watching CNN, watching John Boehner talk and I find it funny that he is saying that change will come to Washington, that things will be reformed. Cause that is what Obama said when he was running for president. Also the other sneaky thing he said, he said that the President sets the agenda of the government. Meaning that Republicans are not taking responsibility if things don't improve the next two years, and will point fingers to Obama. Politics as normal.

What is frustrating is the USA chants, making the other side, the Democrats, out to be the enemy. What is frustrating is that this is just politics, horrible politics, as usual. I listen to what is said and the Republicans are being cocky, saying they are ready to lead, saying that this election is a message to Obama to change course. It is politics, pure and simple, entertainment. All show.All about power. And it is both parties. Yes, there are candidates out there on both sides who genuinely want what is best for their voters; but in some Democrats, and a great majority of republicans, I don't see that. I see neither side willing to admit that they made a mistake, neither side say that they erred. Apparently we the people, or the news networks, don't allow for our congressmen to be wrong, and voting and blindly following your party and defending it with the utmost loyalty is the most common thing I see in politics and the stupidest.

But to get back to the point, about the message tonight, because honestly, if the Republican party wanted to lead, they would have done so. They would have worked more with the Democrats during the past two years, they would not have been the party of no, or been upset about losing power, or making this about a vote against Obama; they would have worked more with the Democrats, would have realized how America voted and worked with what they had. And it goes for both parties to a certain extent, but honestly; watching the polls, watching what is said depresses me. Cause it doesn't seem like things will change. Yes, things will have to be more partisan because of the change in power, but honestly, all I see tonight is more of what is said by every politician, the same thing. No real change. Just a game of musical chairs with the same idiots running around in circles.

And so here I am, watching the polls, watching news coverage, and just being depressed that even though congress has changed; it really hasn't.

3 comments:

I really don't like politics. Issues are ok to debate, but politics is so twisted.

A few things, though:

1. Honestly, I'd say it IS a backlash against Obama, his administration, and his policies (merited or not). The people associate the real issues with the party in power (the media did its share of slamming Bush and his administration, too), and political parties on both sides are always pointing fingers. So despite the reasons for frustration, Obama and his party are definitely the target in the minds of upset voters.

2. Voting in bloc is not necessarily a bad thing when it's based on ideological position. The nays over the last two years were not simply to stalemate Obama: Democrats too voted against many of the big bills because they could not support it. To me, that's bipartisan disagreement, which is just as important as passing bills. The issue is with deals made for political gain rather than basing votes on ideological position. (I think there shouldn't be such a thing as big bills with be passed with bad things in them, but instead sections should be passed in their slim form without pork. If something is bad, vote no.)

3. Finger-pointing has been around for years. Obama was calling Republicans enemies the other day. There's definitely no place for that on either side, but it's not one-sided.

4. The one hope I do have is that this time, all that the Republicans had to offer on their platform was reduced spending, and that's something almost every American cares about. Also, Americans are watching more carefully, and thus (hopefully) should hold their representatives more responsible. I think all the blame in the past comes down to the voters themselves (see my post here).